More

LOS ANGELES — In a new article for MensHealth.com, sociologist Chauntelle Tibbals, Ph.D. takes readers inside the world of adult entertainment with the intention of deconstructing the myths surrounding male porn stars.

“No one pays attention to the guys in porn,” begins the article.Tibbals insists that although tt may seem like a life of glitz, glamour and fortune, the reality is full of challenges.

“There are exceptions,” Tibbals writes. “Gay porn has produced a hefty handful of stars over the decades, and there’s obviously the iconic Ron Jeremy. We also have the panty-dropping juggernaut James Deen … but these examples are only a small fraction of the porno men who’ve come and gone.”

The article reps the thesis that male performers will always play second fiddle to the female talent, regardless of their experience or ability to perform well in front of the camera. To prove her point, she visits a porn set and watches a scene with a veteran porn actor, who was paid a fraction of the pay his co-star, a newcomer named “Ginger,” received.

“He was well-respected and well-represented, though with an unfortunate reputation for displaying a little too much bravado on occasion,” Tibbals writes. “But he had over ten years of performance experience and more than 500 scene credits to his name, working in everything from softcore, Skinemax-type features to the hardest of hardcore.”

Even with a long resume and considerable experience, the male performer was faced with lower pay and the possibility of giving producers a discount if unable to “complete” the scene as needed.

With the pressures to perform, stay fit and look good on camera, Tibbals believes that male stars risk remaining nameless and unsung.

“I’ve heard industry insiders — agents and people responsible for hiring — say there are anywhere from 30 to 50 guys working as porn performers at any given time,” she says in the article. “But this number is constantly in flux and doesn’t take into account the fringe guys, like the mopes who fill in a gangbang, whose faces you never really see.”

Known for her extensive research on the adult industry, Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals has become an authority on the impact, dynamics and social relevance of adult content and the implications of laws targeting porn on free speech and society as a whole. Her work, published in academic journals, has examined workplace safety and autonomy within the adult industry, as well as the stigma experienced by women workers who are not performers due to their involvement in the industry.

She will publish a collection of essays containing observations, encounters and anecdotes later in 2014. The book is titled, “You Study What?”